


Listen

by Sa_forever



Series: Writetober 2018 [1]
Category: Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Angst, Developing Relationship, Flufftober, Insomnia, Whumptober, Writing Challenges, giant scorpion monster, how do i anything, short term insomnia, writetober
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-04
Updated: 2018-10-04
Packaged: 2019-07-24 21:38:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16183679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sa_forever/pseuds/Sa_forever
Summary: Combine "stabbed" "insomnia" and "breakfast" what do you get?Half blind with rage and her hand about to acquaint this version of his face with the mother of all slaps, she missed his eyes going wide. He'd asked her to move. And she had said no. He'd very quietly, urgently told her she needed to move now.  She should have noticed his change in behavior from pithy and angry, to dead serious. Instead, she had stomped her foot.





	Listen

**Author's Note:**

> (This is for a writing challenge)  
> Summary: The Doctor gets injured while saving Rose, and Rose doesn't deal with it well.

_______________

The memories play over again in her head.

She was angry, over something rubbish like him flirting with a local, or him getting all high-and-mighty and her being an ape. Or both. She wants to scream as everything sets up in her head.

They'd been politely chucked out of town for causing a public disruption. Read: they both started yelling. So then they had to make their way back to the TARDIS by walking the edge of the forest. All the while, sniping at each other sullenly.

The Doctor had warned her before they even stepped out of the TARDIS for this visit, that there were extremely dangerous things living in that forest. Care had to be taken if they went near the treeline. It wasn't impossible to walk safely near the edge, but they both forgot just where they were at.

They'd made it maybe fifty feet around the edge and about a tenth of the way back to the TARDIS, when his latest comment, made her stop and fume at him. Obviously being a female left her to be nothing but irrational. Half blind with rage and her hand about to acquaint this version of his face with the mother of all slaps, she missed his eyes going wide. He'd asked her to move. And she had said no. He'd very quietly, urgently told her she needed to move _now_. She should have noticed his change in behavior from pithy and angry, to dead serious. Instead, she had stomped her foot.

The next bit was a blur. He moved so fast she couldn't comprehend what happened, only that now she was several feet away. She was several feet away and the Doctor was hunched over, grimacing, and then she noticed the giant monster behind him. And the blood dripping down.

The Doctor grabbed the sonic out of his pocket and flicked it on. Several seconds later, the Doctor was face down on the ground, bleeding copiously from where the freakishly giant scorpion had stabbed him. The monster ran away shrieking.

 

She blanked out for part of the next bit. Both of them in shock, she somehow got them back in to town. Help had come quickly and decisively. While the townspeople had insisted they leave, very pointedly and with guns, they wouldn't leave a victim of the forest monsters to fend for themselves. She later learned that any blood tended to attract other things that liked large, still living, prey.

Waiting to hear how the Doctor was, had been a terror. They had kicked her out of the room early on, saying she had been getting in the way. Hours were spent staring at that door. Hours, when someone didn't force her to eat and at least rest horizontally. By the time Day Two was ending, she probably looked a right terror.

“Your Doctor is healing very well.”

Rose startled, and looked to where one of the town's healers had come upon her.

“How soon do you-?”

“He should be waking up any time now. He still needs to heal for several more days before I would recommend moving him though” A large crash came from inside and Healer Drin ran for the door. Not about to be locked out again, Rose was right behind him.

There was a bit of a roar as they all scrambled inside and then, “ _Where is Rose_?! _ROSE_!”

Finally managing to get out from behind Drin, “I'm here Doctor!”

She was in his arms, and everything was okay for a couple minutes. He ran his hands over her, checking for injuries and pupil dilation and all ten fingers and toes. Embracing her again, “They wouldn't tell me where you were Rose. They just kept asking me if this or that hurt and saying I could see you later.” She hugged him desperately.

.~.

The Doctor decided they would stay on the TARDIS just recuperating.

“It'll be like a sleepover, Rose! We'll stay up late watching movies and make s'mores in the laboratory! Welll, after a shower and kip, yeah?”

Rose gave him a wan smile. “First I gotta get you cleaned up and rebandaged, Doctor.”

“Alright.” She knew he was just humoring her, but she wasn't sure she wanted to try sleeping just that second. Shower, sure. But she didn't want to have to stare at the ceiling for hours.

Rose chivied him off and followed along. His wound was still tender and stretching was still a bit painful. She had been watching him like a hawk before they left in the TARDIS. She knew he might wince a bit and that it actually meant somewhere along the lines of “burning pain. Sort of feels like I'm getting stabbed a bit again. Just a bit. Be fine in a moment.”

Amazing what a few self defense moves and restraining his arm behind his back could do in terms of communication.

So the first night, they both had showers, a good meal, and planted their bums on the sofa and watched movies until they both fell asleep. She, however, didn't stay asleep. Sometime during the night cycle of the TARDIS, she bolted awake, panting like she'd run several kilometers. Looking over, she saw she hadn't woken up the Doctor, despite the screaming in her nightmares.

She stayed up the rest of the night, cleaning up the t.v. Room, washing dishes, trying to read some books. When the Doctor woke up, she pretended she had just gotten up. There was no point in worrying him. And she especially didn't want him worrying about her when he needed to get better.

So that day, everything was a bit muggy, but she had a couple more cups of tea, and went to it with a will.

 

.~.

 

“Don't you want to sleep in a bed tonight?”

“Welll, it probably couldn't hurt. And really the sofa does not have the proper support for an optimum night's rest...”

“Okay, so one movie and then bed, Doctor.” Rose smiled at him, adoringly.

 

She wasn't sure what tonight would be like. Sure, she hadn't screamed out loud and woken up the Doctor last night, but what if she did tonight? She had already pleaded with the TARDIS and got a grudging tweak to her room. Now, even if she was screaming, she wouldn't wake him up. It wouldn't be right. Sleep did not seem at all welcome, but she was exhausted and had already slept a bare pittance for too long.

 

.~.

 

_“If you had just bloody well moved, you stupid ape, then I wouldn't be hurt! But no, it's always about you. And it's always me coming to the rescue.” The Doctor sneered and turned away. As he turns, she can see a bleeding hole in his back and the Doctor is falling all over again and -_

 

Rose gasps awake. Bloody hell.

She puts on extra concealer under her eyes for whenever she next sees the Doctor, and goes to alphabetize his movie collection. It's interesting work, as she has to decide how to arrange the alien selections that aren't in a recognizable script. Then she starts over, because she finds some new genres of movies that fit differently. Ultimately, she drifts off between 'Th' and '7#'.

“Rose? Rose?”

Someone is nudging her. With a foot.

“Roooose. Rose wake up. What are you doing in here for? Remember, comfy beds? Rose. I made breakfast, Rose. I didn't burn the bacon this time!”

Muzzily, she rolls her head off of “Thumbelina” and opens her eyes. “Wha? Doctor. No pans.”

“I know. I didn't make breakfast actually. I was just trying to wake you up because you were starting to scare me.” He concludes in a mild tone. His eyes are wide and he's got a pillow held defensively in front of his chest.

She blinks. “Why've you got a pillow up like that?”

“Welll... it may have to do with you throwing my movie collection at the walls and yelling incoherently. Or, I could just particularly like this pillow. It's very soft.” The Doctor squishes it, as if that would illustrate its softness. The Doctor continues, a bit more gently, “Do you remember coming back to this room, Rose?”

“Wha? Course I do. I was gonna sort your mess. Do you know you've got a third of the discs in the wrong container?”

“Really?” he starts out, intrigued, “No wait, why did you come back Rose? You were exhausted last night. You nodded off ten times during the movie.”

Having sat up and blearily rubbed her eyes, she looked very intently at the floor beside her. The title by her foot had a case that was entirely metallic and the title appeared to be in a mysterious type of barcode. She didn't say anything, trying to pretend she didn't hear anything.

Silence fell for a minute.

The Doctor sitting down next to her startled her enough to meet his eyes.

“Nightmares?” He asked kindly, knowingly. She knew he was familiar with them.

She bit her lip and nodded.

“Oh Rose. It'll be okay. I promise.” She felt him kiss the top of her head and a little spark of warmth lit her chest. She really didn't believe him, but this was nice, while it lasted.

 

______________________

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> So I tried my best to create a coherent story from these prompts, in a little under 3 days. Felt more like 1 with everything else going on.  
> (I am attempting to write a ficlet every 3 days, using 3 prompts. We'll see how it goes.)  
> Not edited very much at all. Most of this was typed directly into a word doc without revision, in a two hour span at the library before they close.


End file.
